Tragedy shows how good this hospital really is

When Mike, my husband of 45 years, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, my brother sent me a card: “What kind of shoes,” it asked, “go with this kind of stress?” Now, of course, I know the answer. Running shoes. Shoes to run back and forth from the parking lot at East Alabama Medical Center, where Mike spent a month. Shoes to run errands to prepare the house for his brief return. Then, shoes to run back and forth to Bethany House, with children and grandchildren.

We moved back to Auburn in 1977, making a conscious decision to move to a small town to raise our children. Since then, I have been vocal about some aspects of the growth that Auburn has experienced, as was Mike, and my votes on City Council frequently reflected our disappointment.

A couple of years ago, an Auburn journalism student asked me after a Council meeting, if there was something I did like about our growth. I thought for a moment and replied, “The hospital. Our increased population makes it possible for us to offer more services and provide more specialists.“

So it was that the day my husband was diagnosed, he saw — in the span of 24 hours — a neurologist, an internist, a neurosurgeon and two oncologists. Not to mention a brief stop at the emergency room before having an MRI. A fully staffed and equipped medical community was there, it seemed, just waiting for him.

Even just a few years ago, this would not have been possible. We would have been in Birmingham, in all likelihood. Not only were we blessed to have Mike’s critical situation handled in our own “neighbohood;” we were both impressed by the level of care and by EAMC’s staff, top to bottom.

I was struck by the fact that EAMC’s employees — many of whom are performing such truly challenging jobs — were, it seemed, happy in their work. There is a positive, upbeat culture which exhibits itself throughout the organization, from the checker in the cafeteria to the night nurse in orthopedics to the radiation staffers who saw Mike at 6:45 a.m. for 15 days.

Without exception, Mike’s experiences with EAMC personnel were good ones. And I am so grateful.

When we were able to take Mike home for a few days, we were further blessed by two of EAMC’s services — Home Med, which provides medical equipment, and Home Care, which provided the caregivers who came to our house.

When it became obvious that Mike’s final stop would be the hospice — Bethany House, also owned by the hospital — we experienced the most profound blessing of all. What an extraordinary service EAMC provides to our community through Bethany House. The care and compassion, which include learning how to say goodbye, encircled our entire family, including children and grandchildren.

And now that the goodbyes have been said, I will resume my normal routine, or what will pass for normal. I will once again start my days at Health Plus, EAMC’s gym, which I have used for several years now. And who knows? I may someday progress to one of the “flowers“ — Magnolia Place, Camellia Place, Azalea Place or Oak Park, the senior communities owned by EAMC.

We are so fortunate to have this wonderful hospital, its stellar staff, medical and otherwise, and the many services it provides east central Alabama.

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Sheila Eckman is an Auburn City Council member. Her husband, Mike, passed away last month after a brief battle with cancer.